Fitchburg Law Library slated to close in May

SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / STEVE SHERIDAN
The Massachusetts Court System announced that the Fitchburg Law Library on Elm Street will close May 10 as part of a cost-saving consolidation effort.

FITCHBURG -- After being open for 142 years, the Fitchburg Law Library will shut down on May 10 as part of a cost-saving consolidation effort by the Massachusetts Court System.

The Bristol Law Library in Taunton will also close on the same day, and circulation of library materials will cease on Friday for both locations.

A written announcement from Joan Kenney, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Court System, said the state law libraries are shifting their services to electronic options where possible and regionalizing the physical libraries.

The announcement continued: "Of the 17 law libraries across the state, Fitchburg had the lowest number of walk-in users and occupies a deteriorating building. Bristol had the second-lowest user activity and no longer has permanent full-time staff."

The Fitchburg Law Library is on the second floor of the old Superior Court building on Elm Street, next to Fitchburg District Court. The building has no elevator and fails to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. The library employs two people who will be transferred to other law libraries, likely the Worcester Law Library.

The book collection in the two-room Fitchburg Law Library includes a collection of statutes, regulations and court reporters, which are books that collect every decision made by the state Supreme Judicial Court. There are also treatises on law, guides to establish the facts in a case, and several public computers for users to access online material.

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State Sen. Jennifer Flanagan stressed that the decision to close the law libraries came from the Massachusetts Trial Court, not elected officials.

"I don't want to see it closed, but I understand the budget restrictions," said Flanagan, a Leominster Democrat. "Unfortunately, given the resources, it makes it very difficult to have the number of facilities that the Trial court has had in the past."

She said the condition of the building that houses the Fitchburg Law Library was a factor, as it would be difficult to find money to fit and upgrade the building. Flanagan added that the Worcester location is still in the same county for local people to use.

Fitchburg Law Librarian Peter Anderegg said his location has served an area of 230,000 people. He said he's disappointed there won't be a physical location in place, but that the court system is still dedicated to providing legal information to the public.

"There are new and different ways to still serve that mission and provide services to those people," Anderegg said.

He said electronic means, such as providing information, will likely be a future step.

He said the Fitchburg Law Library has had poor attendance because officials were unable to move out of the second floor of the old Superior Court building, where few people know it exists. He said other law libraries are in active court buildings, and their attendance includes court staff who pop in to check their email or use the photocopier.

"It's a mixture of apples and oranges going on here, but the truth of the matter is, it's a horrible location," Anderegg said.

"It is unfortunate, but I think this has been a long time coming," state Rep. Stephen DiNatale said. "Quite frankly, I think this is not going to be the last law library closing."

The Fitchburg Democrat said a tight state budget makes it difficult to keep these kind of services available.

DiNatale said he would be willing to vote to fund a project that would put the state law information online for the public to access for no charge.

In a previous interview, Fitchburg lawyer Charles E. Vander Linden, who serves on the Massachusetts Bar Association's Access to Justice Section Council, said there are three groups of people who use the law libraries: lawyers, judges and members of the public, many of whom can't afford a lawyer.

Vander Linden said they will be the ones hit the hardest and may have trouble getting to Worcester.

"I am extremely disappointed to hear of the closing of the law library," Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong said. "While I understand the state needs to make cutbacks on expenses, this is another cut that will hurt those the most that can least afford it, including small business and individuals who cannot afford legal services."

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